Real Roses

[Steve Clarkson]

Has anyone ever engraved real roses before? I bought a few just to try, but can't seem to get the focus right.

Can anyone give me any tips or tricks for doing them?

I'm attaching a pic that someone else did.

[Frank Corker]

....Can anyone give me any tips or tricks ....


Yes I can. Watch out for thorns. Roses have thorns on them and they can hurt. I could have attached a picture here of someone with a thorn in their finger to demonstrate how awkward these things can be if not handled properly, but some people get squeamish. Also, cut the roses off the rose bush because the soil can get into the bearings and cause all sorts of problems, which I will tackle in another post (possibly the same post as the one entitled, 'Watch for the thorns'). The big question. Same question posed when engraving biscuits or cornflakes, why?

[Mike Null]

Here's the best advice you're gonna get. Quit fooling around with them and give them to your wife before you ruin them.

[Joe Pelonio]

I'm one of those people that has done cookies, beans, leaves, and even a banana and toilet paper. Never tried a rose though, looks like you may need to use a rotary attachment. :D

[Steve Clarkson]

Mike.....If I had a wife, I wouldn't need to know how to engrave a rose.....

Frank......giving a girl an engraved cornflake just doesn't have the same effect as giving her an engraved rose.......how long have you been married?

Joe......thank God someone on this forum gives practical advice!!!!

[John W. Love]

Steve, the secret behind engraving cornflakes is not to just engrave a single cornflake, but rather to engrave an entire box. That way you can engrave not just a simple word or phrase, but the ENTIRE LOVE LETTER. Thats right, engrave the entire love letter and then jumble it up and put it back in the box and let her put the words together across your dining room table. It serves a dual purpose.
A.) It shows her just how much you love her.
B.) It gives her something to do during those long lonely hours while you are away laser engraving a box of rice crispies.

Thats right, I am giving this marital advice away for free, nada, zip, nothing! Thats right and if you order right now I will throw in a pamplet on how to talk yourself out of the misunderstanding when she puts them in the wrong order and comes up with "I'm so miserable without you its almost like your here"

[Steve Clarkson]

I hope you take credit cards........it's free shipping and handling too, I hope.....

I'm glad I bought the Family Size box of Corn Flakes this week.....I'm going to go get started right now!

[Darren Null]

Comedy gold.


Same question posed when engraving biscuits or cornflakes, why?
In the case of biscuits they taste at least 20% better when engraved with a skull and crossbones and "Dad's biscuits DO NOT TOUCH". According to my kids, that is.

[Steve Clarkson]

Yea Darren.....I gave up on the chocolate mold thing and moved on to roses......obviously I have way too much time on my hands!

[John W. Love]

I got bored one night and thought about lasering my name on M&M's to designate these were MINE! Sadly, the kids at them in the dark while watching a movie and "claimed" to not have seen my name on them.

[Darren Null]

I never got to taste any of my biscuits either. *sigh*

Don't worry Steve...everything in our house is engraved except the kids...and that's only cause I can't focus on 'em in time...

[Bill Cunningham]

Steve, the secret behind engraving cornflakes is not to just engrave a single cornflake, but rather to engrave an entire box. That way you can engrave not just a simple word or phrase, but the ENTIRE LOVE LETTER. Thats right, engrave the entire love letter and then jumble it up and put it back in the box and let her put the words together across your dining room table. It serves a dual purpose.
A.) It shows her just how much you love her.
B.) It gives her something to do during those long lonely hours while you are away laser engraving a box of rice crispies.

Thats right, I am giving this marital advice away for free, nada, zip, nothing! Thats right and if you order right now I will throw in a pamplet on how to talk yourself out of the misunderstanding when she puts them in the wrong order and comes up with "I'm so miserable without you its almost like your here"

Perhaps just a box of Alphabits, and she can assemble her own damn love letter!!:D

I did these shotglasses a while back for a customer, who I assume was of the opinion "Liquor IS Quicker" :rolleyes:

[Belinda Barfield]

Mike.....If I had a wife, I wouldn't need to know how to engrave a rose.....

Frank......giving a girl an engraved cornflake just doesn't have the same effect as giving her an engraved rose.......how long have you been married?



You guys are hysterically funny! And so romantic, too. Who would have thought there was a man out there engraving love letters on cornflakes! Sigh . . .

Steve, I have just the lady for you (if you're in the market). I received my first e-mail from her the other day and this is her sig line . . . "You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses." Now are you guys a match made in heaven, or what! (Actually she sounds like a perfect match for Frank but he already has a wife.) I typically don't like people who are so obviously upbeat and happy, but she's an exception.

[Steve Clarkson]

Belinda, Oh how I would love to date a Southern Belle! I've made a few trips down to Tennessee over the past few years and the women down there are soooo nice......send her up to NY for me please!

[Belinda Barfield]

Belinda, Oh how I would love to date a Southern Belle! I've made a few trips down to Tennessee over the past few years and the women down there are soooo nice......send her up to NY for me please!

Sorry Steve, she moved here two years ago for somewhere up north, Cincinnati I believe. We haven't quite gotten her whipped into Belle shape yet. I'm working on it though! Belles can be quite high maintenance and right now she's pretty much wash and wear. ;) I'll be getting together with her and about 15 other women for a getaway weekend on the 20th of March. I'll be sure to send you some photos as all but three are single! :D

[Dan Hintz]

I'll be sure to send you some photos as all but three are single! :D
If I hadn't just proposed to my SO two months ago, I'd be asking for copies ;)

[Belinda Barfield]

If I hadn't just proposed to my SO two months ago, I'd be asking for copies ;)

Congrats Dan! However, the deal ain't done yet! :D;)

[Angus Hines]

I have an SO but she's open minded....Put me on the list to please Belinda..:D

[Steve Clarkson]

Hey! Hey! Hey! Back off gentlemen!!!!! Those are MY PICTURES......or atleast I get first pick!

[Belinda Barfield]

I have an SO but she's open minded....Put me on the list to please Belinda..:D

Okay, before this gets out of hand and the list gets too long . . . how about I just post something over on the OT forum after the weekend. I'm sure everyone will be delightfully entertained by the antics of 15 women adventuring at a state park named Hard Labor Creek! Oh wait, did I mention the menu the ladies have planned? Bloody Marys for breakfast, Margaritas for lunch, Mojitos for dinner . . . hilarity is sure to ensue. I'll try to make sure Tequila doesn't make anyone's clothes fall off! Keep in mind this is only a few days after our St. Pat's celebration, where clothes usually do fall off! (not ours, other celebrants on River Street)

[Belinda Barfield]

Hey! Hey! Hey! Back off gentlemen!!!!! Those are MY PICTURES......or atleast I get first pick!

Psst . . . Steve . . . don't get too upset. The age range is from 33 to 60 - that tends to narrow your choices a bit! :rolleyes:

Sorry we have gotten so off course here Steve. Not much help in the engraving department are we?

[Jack Harper]

Not to rain on the fun here, but as to your original questions, I had an idea. Take some thin aluminum shim stock, say 3"x6", bend it 3" from the end ,90 degrees and then againafter anouther 1" or so (the height of the rose laying down) and then a third time, forming a U shape. Take some tin snips an widdle away the top piece to be about the size of a peddle and bend it slightly to match the contour of the rose. Laying the rose down, gently slip the top piece you just shaped under the peddle and laser away. When the rose is in position, the weight should be still on the bottom so as not to pull the peddle away from the rose body. You could easily do a larger lauout to do 6+ at a time.

I hope this was not too confusing.

[Gary Hair]

I never got to taste any of my biscuits either. *sigh*

Don't worry Steve...everything in our house is engraved except the kids...and that's only cause I can't focus on 'em in time...

Duct tape works wonders...

[Steve Clarkson]

OK, here are two pictures (pretty bad considering I started with a dozen flowers and only two survived!).

I ended up with 100 speed, 70 power, 300 DPI and two passes. If I increased the power or lowered the speed, it just burned through, the two passes seemed to work for some reason.....maybe the first layer needed to be burned off and then the second one gave it a nice color.

I was able to make a simple jig by using three flat Home Depot wooden pencils (on their sides, not flat) in the shape of an upside down U. The petal could be gently lifted over each pencil on each side to make the surface flat. I suppose if I ever needed to do 200 roses at once, a better jig could be built.

I was forced to learn how to manually focus my laser, because the auto focus simply crushed the rose..........so I definitely learned SOMETHING useful today!

I was also able to do individual petals (sorry no pic) after putting a piece of marble on them overnight to get them flat. I could then line up probably 30 petals on my bed and do them all in one shot.

Oh......and the one rose that said "Happy Valentines Day Frank" is enroute to the UK as we speak........

[Frank Corker]

You are a one! By the way the answer to your question is 29 years in March. She still loves cornflakes too!

[Steve Clarkson]

29 years and never an engraved rose.......poor woman.

[Lisa Walter]

Oh my gosh these postings really made my day. You guys are too funny!!! Now I am in a bad mood that my husband isn't as romantic.....that's why I don't read love stories!!!

I am curious how the roses looked in a day or two after lasering them. Did they turn all brown and yucky where you engraved them??

Steve what part of NY are you in? I have a younger sister that needs a romantic guy!!

Lisa

[John W. Love]

Steve, I understand your desire to be romantic, however.... Putting rose petals on the bed actually means a REAL BED that you sleep in, not the bed of your laser. Trust me, she will not find that near as romantic as you, a laserhead, thought it would be.

[Doug Griffith]

I would build a very, very small vacuum table and slide it under each petal.

[Bill Cunningham]

Well I consider myself very romantic!!
When people ask me that common question: "How are you"? My answer is: "My wife says I'm better than nothing, and that all I can hope for"
And it's 40 years this June..:p

[Frank Corker]

Steve, I understand your desire to be romantic, however.... Putting rose petals on the bed actually means a REAL BED that you sleep in, not the bed of your laser. Trust me, she will not find that near as romantic as you, a laserhead, thought it would be.

:D
Now I'm on the floor!!!

[Belinda Barfield]

Gee, maybe we should talk to Keith about adding a new section "Romance for Fun & Profit". There's some pretty good advice in this thread. Like Lisa, I'm now sad that I didn't snag a romantic guy. Oh well, there's always next time. :rolleyes:

[Lisa Walter]

Oh well, there's always next time. :rolleyes:


Now why didn't I think of that?!?!?! Now I feel better! HAHA!

Lisa

[Bill Cunningham]

Gee, maybe we should talk to Keith about adding a new section "Romance for Fun & Profit". There's some pretty good advice in this thread. Like Lisa, I'm now sad that I didn't snag a romantic guy. Oh well, there's always next time. :rolleyes:

Romance for fun & profit!!! Thats been around for quite a while.. :D
Sorta like "You can't buy better beds for love or money"!

[Tim Bateson]

I'm very romantic, just ask me. :D
Actually I was asked to stop sending roses to my wife at her place of work. Not by my wife but the husbands of the other women in my wife's office. That really happened a couple years ago.

Steve - I still haven't heard an answer to how do the roses handle being lasered? I'm assuming they have a very short life span?

[Steve Clarkson]

Tim,

I gave them away......so I'm not really sure.......

Guess I'll have to do more!